Australian Mythology

One thing that has been stressed over and over on this site is that reality can emulate fantasy. There are so many different real world events that can be transformed into gaming material that one should literally never run out of new content.

Native tribes believe in the concept of the Dreamtime. The Dreamtime is that part of Aboriginal culture which explains the origins and culture of the land and its people. Aborigines have the longest continuous cultural history of any group of people on Earth dating back 65,000 years. Dreamtime is Aboriginal Religion and Culture.

The Dreamtime contains many parts: it is the story of things that have happened, how the universe came to be, how human beings were created and how the Creator intended for humans to function within the cosmos. As with all other cultures it speaks of Earth’s Creation by Gods and Goddesses some of whom were kind hearted while others were cruel.

The largest task to fathom and remember is that there are many different and isolated types of tribes in Australia that are lost to histories long past; therefore there are many gods/goddesses with the same function but different names and stories according to each tribe. In a case such as this the names will be linked and not added as another addition.

Additional Ideas (7)

Anjea
Anjea is seen as a fertility goddess. She has been seen to be very nature born and animalistic in her character and personality. It is believed that she was worshiped as a fertility goddess with an odd tendency to use mud to form the child before placing them into the womb of the mother.

Because of this association with mud and nature she is also seen as being associated with the earth, or ground spirits. Her calling to that of being a protector of nature is not so but a birthing mother. While many tribes see Anjea as a female, other tribes refuse to admit that such a deity could form the delicate infants from mud unless Anjea was a male. Being that it is more of a skilled trade then a loving feeling.

Anjea travels the earth placing these created infants inside the womb of expectant mothers. It is believed that when a baby is born it leaves a small portion of an essence behind. This essence is a combination of a gift from Anjea and the mother, also commonly called a spirit. This small portion is left behind in the birth remains and is gathered up by the grandmother or midwife and takes it from the home and buries it in the ground near a running river. She then makes a marker from twigs and sticks forming a shelter that covers the newly dug earth.

During Anjeas travels he or she will find these markers and takes the small essence of spirit and hides it in a hollow log or at the bottom of a lagoon. It is left for some time, rumored to be left there until the person whose essence it was originally dies, and is then placed into another newborn which is made from mud. This clay infant is then put into another expecting mother and thus some tribes believe in repeated rebirths.

Balhoo
Balhoo is seen as the revolving moon that is constantly fleeing the advances of the goddess Yhi, the sun. Because of his refusal to accept her advances and flee from her very site, the sun follows him where he travels chasing the moon across the sky.

Their constant chase in the sky is revealed in the dawning of the new day and the ending at dusk when Yhi gives up the chase, for only a few hours.

Balhoo frequently walks the earth during the hours he is not being chased by Yhi. One such occasion he asked a few men for assistance but when they did not give it he made a declaration that changed the ever immortal tribes. There refusal to help him angered him, and by doing so cast a dark eye to them. He declared that men shall not return to the world like the bark that floats on the top of the river but instead sink to the bottom like a stone. Because of this, the myth and reason behind death and dying was created.

Baiame
Baiame is known as the patron god of the sky and rain as well as the deity of death and life. He sits on high on his never ending throne and watches the tribes below in their daily lives. He determines the existence of the tribes and on a whim can alter their lives with a sweep of his hand.

He is one of the few gods that it is forbidden to even whisper his name in public, lest you garner his attention. Once that is done, it is said that it is only a matter of time before he makes the stroke with his divine hand and takes the person to his realm.

Bamapana
Bamapana is not a well received god among the tribes. Any time anything goes arwy he is usually the one at fault, or the one to blame. He is a trickster and loves to sew discord among the tribes, especially when among different tribes. The more chaos he can unravel the better.

He is obsene and vulgar and not at all offended by breaking the taboos of the gods. He has been found to lay with tribal men and women as well as family when he can trick them without their knowledge.

Simple pranks are usually the beginning o his torment, he will continue on until the death of someone if need be before the other gods step in to halt his meddling hand. He cares little for the other gods, and most importantly has no regard for the tribes as to him they are nothing more than playthings.

He has no real followers, but whenever someone utters a curse in his name he enjoys the notice.

Altjira
Altjira is said to have been the creator of the earth and everything on it. Once he was finished he retired to the sky and is now indifferent to mankind. He is represented as a male with emu type of feet and wings of a feathered bird.

Many tribes call him the Sky Father but other names for him have been the Sky-Dweller and the All Father. He is also assumed to be the God of the Dreamtime. He has several wives and daughters all with feet of dogs.

The Stalker is a trickster god that lurks in strange places, moving among the mangroves or scampering across the sun-bleached rocks of the desert. Local tribes speak of the Stalker as a foreigner, one white skin like turtle bone and clad in desert colored cloth. The Stalker is a fearless deity, plunging into monster infested water to snatch up the creatures, presumably to get a better look at them before blessing them with a kiss and releasing them.

Locals tell of people being snatched by the stalker. They tell of being probed and stretched in odd manners, all the while under the terrible image of a moon of black stone and glassy countenance. Those taken are shaken by the event but most are no worse for wear.

In a large swamp lives an enormous gecko, 100 yards long. He is responsible for thunderstorms and heavy rain. When the monsoon period is imminent he slurps up large helpings of water and sludge, which he throws into the sky to become thunderclouds.

This is then followed by a bit of roaring, which it is said induces lightning flashes and thunder peals. Once the rainy season is over he returns back to basking quietly without being disturbed until next season.

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Throck forest is divided into three parts: a region of twisted black magic, which is dark and hemmed in with the legions of sable pine. This is Spindel, and is occupied by the hideous Ettercaps and their spider-pets. The second area is the chaotic elfin-wood, where the druids work their wyrd magic amongst the oaks. The last part is Udnalor, the home of the gnomes. Finding themselves surrounded by these chaotic forces they dwell as quietly as possible beneath the surface. Their culture is a fascinating one to visit, and in the next few miscellaneous ideas, I shall examine the ways and customs of THE GNOMES OF UDNALOR, with a view to role-playing them.